{"id":14783,"date":"2012-10-31T02:42:50","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T02:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=14783"},"modified":"2012-10-31T02:42:50","modified_gmt":"2012-10-31T02:42:50","slug":"world-of-outlaws-late-model-series-event-preview-peak-motor-oil-world-of-outlaws-world-finals-presented-by-napa-auto-parts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/front-page-news\/world-of-outlaws-late-model-series-event-preview-peak-motor-oil-world-of-outlaws-world-finals-presented-by-napa-auto-parts\/","title":{"rendered":"World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event Preview: PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Season Ends With Spectacular Weekend Nov. 1-3 At The Dirt Track At Charlotte<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"CONCORD, NC \u2013 Oct. 30, 2012 \u2013JUST WIN, BABY: <\/strong>Rick Eckert has experienced a full range of emotions while at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts \u2013 everything from the depths of despair (in 2009 when he learned that his longtime car owner, Raye Vest, had passed away) to the heights of exhilaration (last year when he won his first World of Outlaws Late Model Series title in dramatic fashion).<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s in store for Eckert when he sets up shop at The Dirt Track for the sixth annual PEAK World Finals Presented by NAPA this week (Nov. 1-3)? With no chance of repeating as champion but a second-place finish in the points standings assured, he would like a stress-free weekend topped by at least one season-ending win.<\/p>\n

Eckert, 46, of York, Pa., seems well positioned to end 2012 on a high note during the PEAK World Finals Presented by NAPA, which features 50-lap, $10,000-to-win WoO LMS A-Mains on both Friday (Nov. 2) and Saturday (Nov. 3) evenings. He\u2019s riding a two-race win streak on the national tour, including his first career victory at The Dirt Track just three weeks ago, on Oct. 10, in the Circle K World of Outlaws Late Model Showdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve picked up some momentum here lately so hopefully we can build on that,\u201d said Eckert, whose five WoO LMS wins this season ranks second to the record-setting 15 recorded by presumptive \u201912 titlist Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. \u201cI finally got Charlotte off my bucket list (with his recent triumph), but I\u2019d still like to get another one before the year is done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eckert\u2019s best World Finals finish is second, in the first half of the 2010 doubleheader. That A-Main was run on Saturday afternoon after action on Friday night was postponed by rain.<\/p>\n

This weekend\u2019s competition will bring back Eckert\u2019s memories of his raucous 2011 championship celebration at The Dirt Track, which came after Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., slowed with a flat tire on the final lap of Saturday\u2019s A-Main to hand the WoO LMS crown to Eckert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a cool moment,\u201d said Eckert. \u201cThe way it happened, with all those people there and going crazy when we got to Victory Lane, was something you never forget. I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s already been a year since we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eckert trails Lanigan in the WoO LMS points standings by 194 markers and leads third-place Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., by 198 points, so he\u2019ll lock down a $60,000 runner-up finish as soon as everyone enters Thursday night\u2019s qualifying program. He\u2019s obviously disappointed to fall short of another championship, but he\u2019ll gladly take second-place money after a season that saw him nearly forced off the circuit by an outbreak of mechanical trouble \u2013 with his race car and<\/em> hauler \u2013 in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually had a decent season except for that one period where we broke a bunch of stuff and our truck broke down,\u201d said Eckert. \u201cWe struggled through that stretch, but we got back on track in July and we\u2019re finishing real strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Darrell\u2019s been awesome all year. You can\u2019t catch a guy when he runs top-three just about every race, so hat\u2019s off to him and his crew. They work hard, and they just beat us this year. Hopefully we can come back next year and beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Free of points pressure, Eckert is ready to enjoy the 2012 WoO LMS season finale \u2013 an event that he considers one of short-track racing\u2019s true spectacles.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us racers, it\u2019s work,\u201d Eckert said of the PEAK World Finals Presented by NAPA, which also includes the WoO Sprint Car Series and the Super DIRTcar Series for big-block Modifieds. \u201cBut for a fan \u2013 man, it\u2019s really cool to go to. If I was a fan, I\u2019d enjoy the s— out of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHell, if I\u2019m not racing, I usually end up at a Sprint Car race somewhere around home, so I enjoy all kinds of racing. It\u2019s all cool to me, so I think it would be a cool ticket to get. I mean, it\u2019s a really good deal to be able to see all three classes at such a great place \u2013 there\u2019s so much stuff around Charlotte to do. For a race-crazy fan, he can go visit Cup shops all day long, watch races all evening, and then get up again the next day and do it all over again and still not hit the same shops.\u201d<\/p>\n

CORONATION: <\/strong>Darrell Lanigan will clinch his second career WoO LMS championship at The Dirt Track, putting him alongside Josh Richards as the second two-time titlist since the tour was restarted in 2004 under the World Racing Group banner.<\/p>\n

Lanigan, 42, will receive his championship trophy at the conclusion of Saturday night\u2019s racing program. He\u2019ll share the stage with presumptive WoO Sprint Car Series champ Donny Schatz and the 2012 Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified titlist (Matt Sheppard of Waterloo, N.Y., is currently in the driver\u2019s seat to capture that crown).<\/p>\n

The cherry on top of Lanigan\u2019s weekend would be a victory in at least one of the two WoO LMS A-Mains. Only one WoO LMS regular has won a PEAK World Finals Presented by NAPA A-Main: Richards, in the \u201908 finale.<\/p>\n

In the 10 World Finals A-Mains contested since the event\u2019s birth in 2007, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., lead all drivers with three wins each. Bloomquist won the Friday-night opener from 2007-09, while Owens has topped the Saturday-night finale in each of the past three years.<\/p>\n

Other World Finals winners include Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. (first half of doubleheader in both 2010 and \u201911) and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio (finale in \u201907).<\/p>\n

All previous World Finals winners are expected to enter this weekend\u2019s action.<\/p>\n

THE POINTS RACE: <\/strong>While Lanigan and Eckert will lock down the top two spots in the 2012 WoO LMS points battle once they enter this weekend\u2019s program, there are some positions \u2013 and a significant amount of points-fund cash \u2013 up for grabs.<\/p>\n

* Clanton, who currently holds third place by 84 points over Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., can clinch the $40,000 show position by finishing at least 20 th<\/sup> in both A-Mains.<\/p>\n

* Frank has a shot to move up to third, but he also can slip back as far as sixth. He leads fifth-place Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., by 38 points and sixth-place Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., by 84 points.<\/p>\n

* McCreadie can overtake Frank for fourth, but he also could tumble to seventh with a poor weekend. He leads Smith by 46 points and seventh-place Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., by 86 points.<\/p>\n

* Smith can climb as high as fourth but also slip to seventh, while McCool is virtually assured at least a seventh-place finish but can move up to fifth.<\/p>\n

* The remainder of the regulars \u2013 eighth-place Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., ninth-place Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., 10th<\/sup>-place Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., and 11th<\/sup>-place Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind. \u2013 are pretty much settled into their respective positions in the points.<\/p>\n

OFF-TRACK FUN:<\/strong> For the first time the PEAK World Finals Presented by NAPA will include pre-race musical entertainment featuring country up-and-comer Jason Sturgeon, who will perform a free 90-minute concert for fans both Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sturgeon\u2019s music video for his single \u201cTime Bomb\u201d features 20-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Steve Kinser.<\/p>\n

Fans will also have a chance to get close to the drivers and their cars by upgrading their grandstand ticket to include a pit pass for just $15 per day. Three-day pit passes are available for $85 without a grandstand seat.<\/p>\n

Throughout the event fans will enjoy a huge midway with driver merchandise trailers, sponsor displays and more. In addition, kids can have fun at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Van, complete with interactive games. Lug Nut, the \u2018World\u2019s Fastest Mascot,\u2019 will also be on hand.<\/p>\n

There will also be a giant fireworks extravaganza for the fans during the Friday and Saturday programs.<\/p>\n

EVENT INFO:<\/strong> The PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals presented by NAPA Auto Parts begin on Thurs., Nov. 1, with the big Qualifying Night featuring two rounds of WoO Late Model and Sprint Car time trials and two sets of Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified heats. Each division\u2019s first round of qualifying will apply to Friday\u2019s program and the second round to Saturday\u2019s racing card.<\/p>\n

The Late Models and Sprint Cars will compete in full programs (heats, Last Chance Races, A-Mains) on both Fri., Nov. 2, and Sat., Nov. 3, while the big-block Modifieds will contest Last Chance Races and 40-lap features each evening.<\/p>\n

On Thursday the front gate is scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m. The front gate will open at 3 p.m. and hot laps will start around 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

Competition is scheduled to get the green flag at 6:05 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 1, and 5 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 2, and Sat., Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the Peak World Finals Presented by NAPA can be obtained by logging on to www.charlottemotorspeedway.com<\/a> or calling 1-800-455-FANS. Three-day packages are available for the bargain price of $69 and $24 for children 13-and-under.<\/p>\n

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com\/WoOLateModels <\/a>and Facebook at Facebook.com\/WorldofOutlaws <\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Season Ends With Spectacular Weekend Nov. 1-3 At The Dirt Track At Charlotte CONCORD, NC \u2013 Oct. 30, 2012 \u2013JUST WIN, BABY: Rick Eckert has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,3,71,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-late-models","category-upcoming-events"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14783"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14785,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14783\/revisions\/14785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}